I'd buy stock in asphalt company's.

I'd start by renaming the problem.  It's not terrorism per se which is the problem--it's a tactic used in the war, not the name of the enemy--the enemy is Islamism, the radical, fundamentalist, totalitarian branch of Islam which now has broad support in several countries (Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Syria, much of Iraq, much of Iran, parts of Pakistan (not all), a lot of Algeria and the Sudan, Yemen, and a few more), and limited support in some others.  Its influence must be diminished in any way possible.  This is really the most serious threat we face in, say, the next ten years.  Tens of millions of people rejoice whenever Americans, Christians, or just "infidels" are killed:  don't ever underestimate the malignancy of this movement, which has its roots in earlier 20th century totalitarian ideologies.  Start with the works of Sayyid Qutb if you want to understand where they're coming from, for his writings are the intellectual force behind Bin Laden, Al Qaeda, and even Khomeini.

i would increase the size and power of the cia. i would permentaly detain any terrorists caught. i would focus on cooperating with forign goverments and siezing terrorist bank accounts. i would not go around bombing every country i thought supported terrorists

I would hire Richard Clark, and make him the Anti-terrorism Czar. From any comment I've heard him make, I believe he has the vision to do the job. Unlike our current Pres. I would have killed Al-Zarqawi in 2002. NBC reported we new who, and where he was for 12 straight months. Bush didn't want to alleviate any pressure building up that he needed to invade Iraq. Again: We new he was a terrorist, We new he was trying to make Chem. weapons in the Kurdish area, We had over 300 chances to get rid of him before we attacked Iraq. Why? The Drums were beating.

Search and destroy. Is it really that hard. I think not.

Anybody who has ever been exposed to the military knows that to motivate a group of fighting men, you punish all of them if one does wrong. That is how you build unity and encourage team thinking. I think we need to use this concept here. Stop any and all middle eastern people from coming into our country until All al-queda is found or given up. If these countries felt the pressure of not having Americas commerce, trade and way of life as a choice they might become united in getting this guy themselves! They are the ones who know the country/geography as well as how the mid east mind/mentallity works. We need their help and this just might get it. Not to mention without any of them getting in the threat would greatly diminish. It is far fetched...but sometimes you need to do things that way to get real results. Unfortunately we can expect NO politician to take such a chance.

I think Eschew makes a good point that everyone has a variation of things Bush is actually doing. The long term goal for my administration to combat terrorism would be the same as Bush's: bring freedom to the doorstep of every nation who wishes to be free as free people don't commit terrorist acts. Having my druthers irrespective of political implications I would double defense spending in general and triple it on surveillance capital both for equipment and human intelligence. The primary target of our intelligence detail would be Iran. We need to infiltrate and subvert their systems from within by funding pro-democratic student unions and groups that exist and supplying them with arms. It will be necessary to wage cyberwars on their computer networks and implement similar espionage techiniques as prevailed in the cold war: decoy technology sales etc. Iran is the greatest supporter of world terrorism. It's necessary to infiltrate their networks and disturpt their functions. They are also a large supplier of the world's oil and a member of OPEC. (I've written before on the justification of war to open oil markets as a component of a larger moral cause) If necessary a possible military strike would satisfy a two pronged long term objective (i)reducing terrorism at home by fighting on foreign fronts while simultaneously liberating tyrannized peoples (ii) and opening oil markets to greater competition strengthening our hand economically. It would be done so with overwhelming force. It is however imperative that we see to it that Iraq has every opportunity to succeed. We need to focus our attention there first! Enabling the Iraqi people to build a culture of liberty to control their own destiny will be our greatest asset in toppling tyrannical regimes friendly to terrorists. A free Iraq will be a strategic winfall in various ways. Toppling Iran and and a free Iraq will encourage reform in a then weakened Saudi Arabia. It will be necessary for us to weaken the Sauds severely by breaking up oil cartels before they will truly crack down on terrorism. Close behind Iran, Saudi Arabia is the next worst producer of terrorism. It is impossible however, at the moment to play our hand as they could economically cripple us by cutting off access to crude. Not until we reduce their power overall by opening world oil markets can we impose our will there diplomatically. The terrorists will help our cause by attacking their own government but this will not be enough. In Pakistan we need to keep the pressure on Musharaf (if he doesn't get killed first). We need to reassert ourselves in Afghanastan and commit vastly more troops. Taliban forces have taken over patches of territory that need to be reclaimed and controlled. It is a necessity that we recommit ourselves in Afghanastan and their freely elected government. It is however already a positive sign that millions have signed up to vote- including millions of women! Though these strategies seem just a bit more aggressive than Bush's goals I don't think they are much different. I think Dubya has done a very good job cracking down on terrorism and will continue to fight the war on the offense. If they are fighting for survival over there they aren't planning and plotting here.

if i caught any of the yellow bastards alive i would fry them in hot oil.

Clearly America's biggest worry at this time, I would definitely put more focus on the CIA and their intelligence failures. I would also look more into the capture of Osama Bin Laden and the extermination of Al-Quaeda. Now that Saddam Hussein is out of our hands we should feel every obligation to strengthen the search of Bin Laden, who is assumed to be somewhere along the Afghan/Pakistan border. His capture should be the top priority in the war on terrorism. We also need to look into strengthening our foreign military bases, as they are an easier target for terrorism than within the contiguous USA.

Wow. Everyone exhibiting anything resembling sanity produces a partial list of Bush's war on terror. Cut them off from friendly regimes, cut off their funding, punish/attack sovereign regimes who harbor terrorists, beef up intelligence networks (I like the guy who states he would do it all before 9/11/01) and secure our own borders. It would be tough to do as a first term president but when you were in your second term, what the heck? Has John Kerry outlined anything like this? I haven't seen it either, or was he the guy saying he would have done it all before 9/11/01?

I wouldbreak tell all allies to break communication with the middle east. Anyone who doesn't will be considered an enemy of the state.

I would try to get as many intelligence agencies in the world to work together to find and terminate all terrorist groups where ever they are hiding. I would committ as many troops as possible to search Afghanistan and aid the Pakistanis. I would work with all goverments to pressure the banking industry to find where the money is coming from to support these groups. I would have started all of this before 9/11/01

I've always thought that finding Osama bin Laden took priority over Saddam Hussein, so I would focus more attention and resources on that. He was, afterall, the mastermind of the 9/11 attacks, and should be brought to trial for it. Second, I would put a *few* restrictions on the media in regards to terrorism/war issues -- I love freedom of the press, but sometimes that freedom endangers our troops and opens up new doors for terrorists. Lastly, intelligence must become better and we need to have a good, strong espionage system to infiltrate terrorist cells.

Obviously, the terrorists declared war on America, so there is really no option for the American government but to view Islamic radicalism and terrorism as one of the greatest threats facing its citizens in the years to come.

I would increase human intelligence throughout the world and not rely so much on technology. People still communicate person to person without the use of phones or the net.

For one thing, I wouldn't go to war. Because that doesn't help anything. I would try to deal kindly with them, but if that didn't work, I might have to resort to sending some armies over, but I will not risk open war.